In the Wake of Determination
by Mooncake
Summary: Sasuke's body has been completely taken over by the cursed seal...and now, in the wake of determination, Sakura finds who her heart truly belongs to. “Mommy? When did you find out you loved Daddy?”


**Disclaimer: I _want_ Naruto. (Ahem). But we don't always get what we want, _do_ we? But I do own Katsui, my cute little slug XD.**

**Warning: Character death. Please don't be senseless and flame about it, you've been warned here.**

* * *

**In the Wake of Determination**

_Lady Soi_

It was at the very moment the sun met the horizon. Shadows grew and an orange glaze coated everything, giving the battlefield an eerie and gloomy feel. Naruto had just completed Kuchiyose no Jutsu, summoning that _huge_ toad into our battle. I took the signal, calling out my own, newly-obtained contract animal: the daughter of Tsunade's Katsuyu. I had trained the young slug in secret for the past six months with Tsunade; no one had seen her until then.

"Eh, I didn't know you could summon too!" Naruto yelled, trying to stand his ground—_on_ Gamabunta—against a huge gust of wind. It reminded me of Temari-san's Kamaitachi no Jutsu; those harsh cutting winds that I'd analyzed back then at the chuunin exams.

"No time for that now! Just watch him—he'll summon Manda any minute!" I yelled right back at him, and I was right.

It was soon, the deep voice I used to dream about cried in heartbreaking anger, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" I knew then, that it wasn't going to be a normal battle, both physically and emotionally. This was going to be something between the three of us, and no one else could interfere. Not even Kakashi-sensei.

I shifted on my summon, and looked back at Sai. Before I could tell him to leave, that it no longer involved him, and maybe even a 'thank you', Kakashi appeared next to him and waved his carefree wave.

I had to smile. Even in this kind of situation, no one understood us like Kakashi. In a flash, and with one last fleeting glance from Sai, they disappeared.

I turned back towards the fight—and immediately froze in shock. It was the familiarity of the scene; _they_ were, once again, charging at one another. I quickly jumped off, falling for a while from the great height the slug created, and gave the ground a hard punch. The earth split and both Gamabunta and Manda the snake faltered from their course.

"Sakura, that was unnecessary," Gamabunta's harsh yakuza-like tone stated after up-righting himself. He was most likely annoyed—I had the feeling we would never hit it off too great. He was just…_so gross_.

"Sakura-chan, are you ready?" Naruto asked when I leapt back on Katsui, my summon, holding on tight as the toad and snake clashed again and again.

Sasuke spoke before I could reply, "You should know better than to turn your back to the opponent, Naruto… Can't you take me by yourself? Don't bring Sakura into this—"

The sound was louder than one would have imagined. It felt nice, the contact of my fist against his jaw.

And all of a sudden, I was in a really good mood. "I hope that hurt like hell, Sasuke," I said, clenching my fists. I stood right in front of him, but paid more attention to my feet than him; Manda felt very different from Katsui-chan. With a flip of the snake's head, I was thrown off.

If he thought I was still that weak, and could be done in by _that_, then he was seriously in trouble. I landed safely back on Katsui.

"Damn you, Sasuke!" I saw by the wavering in Naruto's voice that he was fighting the Kyuubi power inside. We've been through it already: this time, he wasn't going to need it.

I came in eye contact with him and gave the sign. When we were younger, as Team Seven, we were acknowledged for our great teamwork. And though a member has left, and a member has joined, it hasn't changed. Even with only two members, not three or four, the teamwork is still there.

We exploded into action, me commanding Katsui to do this and that, and Naruto getting Gamabunta in position. Sasuke didn't move. I hated that look on his face; it was like he wasn't going to do anything just to _test_ us. Idiot, we could kill him in one shot.

Again, I froze in shock. Did I really want that? Since when did I want him to die? It's only been around two months since last time we met, where I was thinking 'Oh, please come home, Sasuke-kun…' It's only been a week since I was reminding Naruto that we would do anything to bring him back. When did I start hating him so much?

"What's with that face, Sakura-_chan_?" he mocked, wiping off a drizzle of blood (I took pleasure in knowing that I had caused it), "are you_ scared?_"

Oh. That's why. The real Sasuke is dead. The monster here is only using his body. He deserves to die.

Engulfed in my fury, I hurled myself towards him, punching anywhere that would satisfy my need to hear the cracking of bones—his bones.

His hands helplessly grasped my wrists, trying to stop me. I threw his arms off, surprisingly effortlessly, and continued pulverizing him, until I hit something hard. I blinked, and in the place of the monster was a log.

Damn, Kawarimi.

"SASUKE!" I roared; ready to rip him apart. I spotted a flash of a dark purple—that stupid Sound rope. Just as I was going to attack again, I felt a hand on my shoulder…Naruto.

"Sakura-chan… Calm down, okay? We're going to do this together," he said softly. So he knew too—this monster had to die.

"Yeah…" I replied, and smiled at him. He really _has_ matured, hasn't he? I took my position back on Katsui and we began again. Mini clones of Kat crawled over to Manda, unnoticed.

"You're doing great," I murmured to Kat, assuring her that she wasn't a single bit less than the others. I absentmindedly patted her as Naruto proceeded with his part, and without taking an eye off Sasuke—I began mind-wandering. My brain had always done this; daydreaming without my consent.

Before, in the genin days, they were always about Sasuke. Then, some time later, my times in fantasyland were constantly about that cute waiter at the dango shop… My mind quickly found itself back at the current situation. I sighed in impatience and discomfort. Why did we have to fight? Why couldn't we be the old Team Seven?

—

_There was a knock on my apartment door._ I immediately woke. Tired or not, I was a ninja. I blindly wandered into the dark hallway, tripping over the medical books piled up on the floor.

I stopped in the foyer. Who was it—and what did they want from me so late?

Fully awake now, I thrust the door open, hoping the catch the intruder off guard. I saw a dark figure. Without thinking, I threw my fist back, ready to land a hard one—

"Sakura," the voice said, first startling, and then calming me.

"Naruto," I paused, "what are you doing here?"

I noticed the look in his eyes. His bright, exuberant blue irises were gone. Now, a pair of dark and tired eyes stared back at me. He seemed hesitant to answer, and only stood at my door awkwardly.

Few minutes were enough, "Naruto—"

In barely a whisper, he spoke. "They found Sasuke."

My eyes widened, and he looked away. I stepped up to him, grabbing his shoulders, "Where? Naruto! Look at me—where is he?"

"They said…the cursed seal has taken complete control…of him," he said, voice slowly fading to nothing. Was that what this new attitude was all about? Did he think that we wouldn't be able to bring _him_ back?

"Naruto." He looked up, and I continued, "You said, right? Anything. We'll do anything to bring him back. Don't worry about the seal, we can break it. And not to mention," I smirked, suddenly in the mood, "you don't want to break your promise to _me_, do you? We have to do it together this time."

_He smiled,_ _and__any hopelessness he had was gone._

—

Whatever the answer was, it was too late now. Sasuke had to go.

My eye must have lost focus on him (I was completely absorbed in my own little flashback), but the previous Sasuke in hand-to-hand combat with Naruto was gone.

Before I could even stifle the gasp of surprise, I was thrown off Katsui and slammed against a tree. I felt dizzy, and my vision was blurred. It was really inhuman to travel the distance of Katsui to the tree in less than a second.

I spat blood out, and blinked a few times to let my eyes regain focus. Sasuke…that little bas—I froze. Once again, I ignored the missing-nin in front of me, my gaze was behind him. Where did Naruto go?

There was a huge mess where they had been fighting. Craters broke the previously smooth ground, side foliage burned aflame, clouds of dust and debris still floated around, and fractured logs lay sprinkled around the area. Gamabunta was no where to be seen. Just what had happened? How fast were they going?

I didn't feel it when Sasuke stabbed a kunai into my side—the dust clouds had settled. My whole body went numb.

Naruto.

He was spread flat on the ground, with his clothes torn and blood leaking through. He looked the most broken I've ever seen him; I couldn't think of anything but healing him. He looked almost _de_…

I could barely open my mouth and scream his name—only a weak whisper came out. I vaguely saw Sasuke smirk, but I ignored it.

I waited for him to stand. A whole second went by until I realized that he wasn't moving an inch. His chest did not heave like any other living person, his eyes were still closed and—_why_ wasn't he getting up? He always got up, no matter what. Why wasn't he moving? He always moved! All those times as genin together, even when Neji hit him with Juuken…

Unconsciously, tears rolled down my face, and I found my voice—screaming at the top of my lungs, "GET UP! WHY AREN'T YOU GETTING UP? YOU IDIOT, IDIOT, _IDIOT_!" I cried openly now, my tears clouding up my vision so I saw nothing anymore, only muttering, "Naruto…why aren't you getting up…?"

"Sakura-_chan_, sorry to say," Sasuke chuckled, "but he's—"

I did it again; punched him in the face. I yanked the kunai out and left the wound unhealed.

I had to get there. I had to get to him, to help him. Sasuke kept attacking, and I didn't dodge the kunai and shuriken. The blades felt like nothing now. _Get up, you idiot, get up_, I kept repeating.

I finally reached him, my eyes an endless source of salt water, and my hands shaking in a way that they had only once before—the first time we met Orochimaru.

"Naruto… Naruto!" I shivered as I said his name. His face was cold, and I frantically tried to feel for a pulse. I thought I felt something, but my hand was jerking too much to tell whether it was me or him.

Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed over us. I unwillingly pulled my head up to meet the dark, lifeless eyes of the monster. He chuckled; a frightening sound that I knew would linger in my nightmares…if I ever lived through this. The thought of life and death immediately brought my attention back to Naruto. I watched his motionless face, hoping that my mental shouts would wake him.

"Kukuku," the monster snickered, and then added mockingly, "…Sakura, what are you going to do now? _Run away_?" He laughed to himself, like a nasty creature would, twirling a kunai casually. I took it as a signal—he thought I wasn't even a threat.

I stood up, taking my position firmly in front of Naruto. I knew what I had to do. There was no time to heal Naruto now (he definitely could not, _would_ not leave me in the world alone), but I would later—I knew I had to do this alone. My eyes flickered upwards, looking him straight in the eye.

"I'm not going to run away."

We began. I started towards him, with a kunai gripped tightly in my hands. It was standard position…with a twist. He leapt back a reasonable distance, laughing at my expression. I stayed focused, remembering the trick I had perfected with Lee so many weeks ago.

Just as I reached his taijutsu range, I ducked down, plunging my fist into the ground. Shards of soil as big as the Hokage's desk (massive, to be able to hold that much paperwork) flew up. I skillfully spun around in a neat arc, evading every single one—just as I had during training.

I didn't get to see his surprised look or anything, for that matter, but I knew I had hurt him. There was a low grunt, his, and I saw the blood trailing down his front. He had been blown backwards by the chuck of land that I had compared with shissou's desk, and slammed into the conveniently placed boulder behind him.

I smirked, feeling satisfied, but instantly regretted it. I didn't want to be like him. I shook my thoughts away and focused again. He was still plastered against the boulder, wiping the blood away. I single-handedly grabbed another large rock beside me, this one just slightly smaller than Tsunade's office table, and threw it into the air. I counted through the moments it was airborne, as I had done many times before.

It started its descent. I drew my fist back, prepared to hit it with as much force as there was chakra gathered in my palm.

It seemed perfect, really. The preparation, the actual act, everything I did was flawless. My force should have shattered anything that got in the way. But _no_. In the last moment before I was sure the monster would be gone forever, he gave me a disgusting, twisted smile. He raised his arm and narrowed his eyes. Before I knew it, my perfect attack burst into nothing but dust. My jaw dropped and it even took my quick, skeptical mind a few prolonged moments to figure it out.

He had stopped the rocket of hard limestone: With his chakra alone.

It was stupid, but I just stood there, in shock. My eyelids were frozen in place; I couldn't stop staring at him. It was a while before I couldn't fight the human need anymore, I blinked.

He was gone. I blinked again, and he reappeared—right in front of me. I didn't even have time to gasp in horror. He glared down at me, and I didn't block when he thrust his marble-hard fist into my stomach.

I couldn't think as my upper body lurched forward; time seemed to freeze along with my mentality. His foot made contact with my back, crushing my spine, and impossibly, not even a fraction later, something slammed my head sideways from the front—and I was flying.

With a loud thud, and dust gathering around me, I landed. I tilted my head as much as I could, and only to see that I was completely covered in blood. At any other time, I might have cared about myself. But not today, I glanced around; looking for where I knew Naruto was lying, helpless.

I saw him a few meters away, when sudden terror rushed through me. I hadn't meant for him to be left alone that whole time… Was he okay? I felt my expression churn into the ever familiar contours of worry, and I pushed myself up.

Unable to stand because of the deep gash in my side, I crawled towards Naruto instead, my true desperation shining through. I was nearly there, though a little faint from the loss of blood. I dropped in a heap of limbs a few times, but always pushed to pull myself back up again. I must look pathetic to that _thing_ laughing happily above me. I decided to ignore him and weakly moved my palm to apply pressure to my wound.

To my dismay, I was so low on chakra that my hand only fluttered a light green before falling limply back to my side. I hated myself. Why hadn't I run? Taken Naruto and healed him before I couldn't?

Silently, deathly, an invisible force pinned to the cold, hard ground. The lack of blood was blurring my vision, but soon it became clear; the monster was on top of me.

The darkly colored bangs of the monster brushed my cheeks from above. "You look nice, Sakura…all banged up like that," he mused. He gave another mind-shaking chuckle and bent down to my throat. I felt my heavy breaths ringing throughout my whole body as he roughly pushed his nose into me. He was…smelling me? My confusion almost overthrew my fear.

A single cold drop splashed on my face, then another and another. Soon enough, the monster and I were drenched. I lay paralyzed under him—not knowing if it was the overpowering fear that kept me from fainting…or something else.

I gasped at the sudden pain in my neck. If I could, I would have shouted. He _bit_ me! _It_ bit me! He lifted his head up with alacrity, searching for my reaction. My lack of any expression besides my previous of terror made him frown. His hands moved downward and my fear grew when I felt his cold flesh against my own. I painfully jerked my head up, and saw that my shirt was ripped, exposing a little skin.

He grinned a horrible grin, hands gripping the edge of the worn cloth, ready to tear it all off. He smirked, and for a moment, I thought back to the past, and the smirks I had obsessed over. This smirk was different; of course, it hovered on the face of a monster. I felt a shiver of the familiar feeling of infatuation rumble in my stomach and had to remind myself, despite the striking resemblance, that _this was not Sasuke._

By now, the rain had washed the blood away from my wounds, and our clothing clung to us. His wet hair was stuck to his head and its wet drops came down on my face. I finally broke out of my paralyzed state—and screamed. It was ear-splitting and my throat burned. Tears of fear forced out from the corners of my eyes and mixed with the rain, while my arms waved hysterically, trying to pry the demon off me.

He was always stronger than me, and now even more now, in my weakened state. He ignored my thrashing and ripped off my shirt.

I let out another window-shattering scream, but _it_ continued, harshly nipping at me some more, smirking all the while. My head spun even more with each shriek I threw in the air. I thought hastily that I would rather die than be in this position now. Death—Naruto.

My tears came more rapidly now; it was too late. I shouldn't have left him alone! He was…now…he was… I couldn't think about it. There was only one plus for my uncontrollable screaming—I couldn't hear my own thoughts.

Monster's hands reached down, feeling the hem of my skirt. My gasp was caught in my throat, and my frantic choking masked the beginnings of another shriek. His hands slithered up my thigh, and I couldn't feel my waving arms anymore. Looking down, I realized I had stopped trying to stop him. I was too tired; I didn't care anymore. I squeezed my eyes shut, and waited for the cold hands to reach my—

"Stop."

My heart stopped at the voice. Through my tears I vaguely saw an orange blur.

"Stop." It was repeated. "Get off her."

The monster looked up, and smirked coldly. "So you're not dead."

"N…Naruto?" He still looked broken. I shook at the way he looked; bruises lined everywhere and a few shallow cuts decorating the large wounds. He didn't look at me, and he seemed to be avoiding looking anywhere in my direction easily. Did he forget I was here? Am I the burden again? Relief swept over me anyway; he was alive. What else mattered?

To add to my immense relief, the monster lifted off me. He faced Naruto, who I realized was glowing faintly red. My eyes widened in worry, and I quickly made to get up.

A sharp pain ran through my body, causing me to fall back to the ground. I was stuck, from fear or the surprising pain in my leg, I don't know, but I couldn't move. I cringed when I noticed that there was no 'Sakura-chan! Are you alright?'

They weren't paying any attention to me. Oh no, not this again. I thought I'd finally proven it to them. I'm stronger now, right? Why can't Naruto keep his promise? They were going to fight without me.

They both bit their thumbs. They both formed the hand seals. They both yelled the incantation. Both Gamabunta and Manda appeared again.

I looking longingly out at them, and pushed harder to stand. Despite the stinging pain, I slowly moved each leg slowly, trying to ease them into functioning again. I needed to be out there with him. I needed to help, too. _He_ had to die. The world couldn't afford any more monsters.

"How dare you call me out again?" The voice of Manda boomed over us. The falling drops doubled in volume, creating the deafening sound of a waterfall.

"Naruto?" Gamabunta questioned cautiously. I watched Naruto's unwavering gaze on Sasuke—completely serious and focused.

"Hn." I heard him snort. He pulled out a scroll from his leg holster, and performed hand seals too fast for me to catch. I watched, dumbfounded, as one by one, three dead corpses appeared out of thin air. Sudden realization hit me—they were sacrifices; used as bribes for the giant snake.

A fresh wave of pain washed over me, and I felt my eyes roll to the back of my head. It was too much to bear. With one last glimpse of the clashing two, I fell into darkness.

-

-

"_Aaargh!_" The piercing scream shook me back into consciousness. My eyelids flew open, and the stiffness of my body reminded me—I fainted! Oh God, I'm such a weakling! My muscles tightened in my anger, and I didn't notice for a while that a warm, orange jacket was draped over my exposed chest.

Another blatant shout brought my attention back to what was important. My eyes widened. Emotion played through me too fast for me to comprehend. Only one lingered in me a second later: cold, hard fright.

Gamabunta was again gone, though I only spared that thought a moment before I stood; mouth agape at the scene in front of me. This was the only thing worse than fighting the monster—it was being beaten by the monster.

"Na…Naruto…" I barely muttered. His face brought out another emotion in me: inevitable worry—again. And again, I felt tears swelling up… It hurt to breathe when I saw him, pinned down on Manda and rain trailing from his face, with a katana at his throat.

I took another peep at his eyes before the monster shifted. And it only made my heart ache even more. They shone in defeat. It was unbelievable—Naruto, the cheery idiot, had given up.

I wanted nothing more right then than to slap him. How dare he? How could he let that monster crush both of us? Not to mention the pro—

"_Gaaah!_" My eyes widened again. _It_ had driven the katana into Naruto's shoulder. I forgot everything I had just been mentally ranting about. Suddenly the thought of death felt so much closer. Images of Naruto's lifeless blue eyes flashed through me in an instant.

I thought of Konoha without him, and my heart froze. To never hear his laugh again would have killed me, if I hadn't switched my train of thought to the burning in my chest and throbbing in my head so fast.

I had seen deaths before at the hospital, but how come I haven't ever felt like this before? I was guilty of my incompetence at not being able to save them, but usually—horribly—I forgot them in a week. Instead, I now shook uncontrollably, glued to the ground. I realized painfully that if Naruto was gone, I'd lose my one true friend. I'd lose the one person I could tell anything and everything to; the one person that I could always depend on to be there for my comfort.

Memories of our past resurfaced, but I quickly pushed them away with one thought. I couldn't live without him. I stubbornly thought what was obvious in my mind: if Naruto died, so would I.

It didn't matter that my life was on the line. For me, it only mattered that Naruto was alive…and happy. I would do anything for him—and now, I was the only one who could protect him.

I heaved in all the strength I had, gathered as much chakra as I could find, and in one breath, I pushed off of the ground. I staggered a few times, but found balance soon. I looked down at my pathetically beaten up body. Cuts and bruises were littered everywhere and the bright orange jacket that wrapped around me didn't seem like much cover. Why was I doing this? I went back farther in my mind. I knew I had to, and I wanted more than anything to protect him. But _how _important was he to me?

It came before I knew it, as if my subconscious had been waiting to remind me.

"_It's how strong you _feel_ about him that counts…"_ The words of Yamato showcased in my head like a neon sign._ "Sakura, I can tell just by looking at you. The truth is, you…"_

I couldn't believe it. The drops falling around me went mute in my shock. It couldn't be—he was always my friend. Just a friend. But was it normal to have thoughts of your own death if _just_ your friend died?

Being a first-timer at this…feeling, I couldn't help but to run down the list I had heard so much about. Happiness? Was I happy with him? Without thing, I mouthed silently to myself, "Yes."

Trust? Yes. He was the one I trusted the most. With secrets, with my feelings, and my life. I couldn't trust anyone more than that. Commitment? Would I commit my life to him? Would I be able to put him in front of everything? I nearly fell over in abrupt realization.

My life was _already_ devoted to him. Right now, I considered protecting him from Akatsuki the utmost priority in my life. Until now, I hated to admit it, but retrieving Sasuke was for him. And before now, I had trained so hard that I had broken the bones of all my limbs twice—just to be able to do those two things.

One more cry from Naruto brought me out of my transfixed state. Figuring out my feelings for him seemed instantly insignificant compared to the need to get him away from the monster. The need to save him.

"_Aaaargh!_" I let out the battle cry before plunging all my power into the ground.

A rumbling sound traveled from the point of my punch to Manda, along with the quickly spreading cracks across our battlefield. I watched with pride as my most powerful punch, perhaps stronger than the most powerful earthquake, shook everything in my view. I wasn't the weak little girl anymore.

I unimportantly wondered how I'd gotten so much chakra all of a sudden, but abandoned the thought as soon as the giant snake began slithering wildly—dropping Naruto in the process.

The previously mute rain seemed to pound twice as hard now. I leapt into action, barely making it in time to have the falling Naruto crash into my outstretched arms. My knees buckled under the heavy weight, and we fell to the ground.

"Sakura!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Let me heal that for you," I said, my voice almost unrecognizably breathy. I felt his gaze on me as I tended to the gash in his shoulder, and for the first time, blushed at the attention.

By the time his shoulder stopped bleeding, the overwhelming exhaustion that fortunately avoided me moments before had caught up. I hastily pinched myself to keep me alert, earning a worried glance from Naruto.

"You scared me back there," I said.

"Sorry. He surprised me from behind." He looked down.

Everything I had felt while I thought he had left me forever came crashing back to me. My eyes closed in distress. I never wanted that to ever happen again. And then I knew. Happiness, trust, and commitment were only a few. I knew. In the wake of determination, I knew that I loved Uzumaki Naruto. I've always had.

This all happened in a matter of minutes. Maybe even seconds. But before I could show any reaction to my epiphany, a great shadow fell upon us.

"Don't keep me waiting, _my friends_." He stood, smirking, on the snake's head.

I scrambled back up and bit the tip of my thumb and performed the memorized seals before shouting the incantation for the second time that day, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Katsui!" She appeared in a poof. I knew that she had left earlier, save for a few clones, to protect herself.

"Katsui!" I called. She appeared by Manda, faster than an actual slug would travel, and wrapped around him in a tight grip.

"Hmph! Another slime. Just like your mother, Katsuyu, though not half as strong," Manda grunted.

Angered, Katsui spat, and before the acid could reach Manda, he disappeared. In his place was the shed skin of his entire body—too light to float to the ground.

"Damn," I muttered to myself. I racked my brain, hoping to think of something, anything to finish the snake off.

My wish was granted. The brilliant idea came as my mind landed on a scene earlier today. The mini-clones! I had ordered some clones towards Manda earlier, surely they hadn't moved.

"Kat-chan," I whispered down to her, "the clones!"

"Hai, Sakura," she replied, immediately understanding.

I felt a twinge beneath me as Kat communicated with the clones. And sure enough, a deep, echoing shout of pain rang out in the forest to our right. The trees shook, and birds flew out of their nests as the giant snake thrashed around.

Manda, with the monster perched on top, appeared at the edge of the forest. The snake's face was scrunched up in pain, while the monster's held a look of confusion. Unseen by the pair, Katsui's clones were stuck to a portion of Manda's long back, releasing venom into his body. The snake groaned, causing a prolonged vibration through the trees. The skin burning off disabled him to use Kawarimi again.

"Uchiha, you fool! Summon me once more, and you are dead." And he was gone as soon as I blinked.

Our remaining enemy flipped, and landed elegantly in front of us.

"Sasuke," Naruto growled, eyes narrowing.

He ignored Naruto, and laughed, "How humorous, to think that Sakura's half-assed fighting brought Manda down…"

I was about to retort, but Naruto cut me off. "Sasuke!" he shouted, barely containing his anger.

Two poofs came, and Naruto's shadow clones appeared. There were two, instead of the usual single clone, I noted. In the hand of Naruto, a ball of chakra was being formed. The bushin next to him was inserting more chakra—to establish the spiraling. The other did something new. It inserted a different type of chakra—brighter and sharper-looking. I smiled in pride at seeing the proof to his superiority to the Fourth. This was the new jutsu he had created!

The monster smirked, once again taking us lightly. He sent waves of Chidori down his katana, further showing his amusement.

"Bastard," I mumbled angrily.

Suddenly, the air felt heavy with a dark presence. I abruptly turned my head towards Naruto, and caught my breath. The red chakra of the Kyuubi engulfed him completely. His whole body shook—I could tell he was trying to suppress the chakra.

I felt goosebumps skitter up my arm when I glanced at the chakra-formed tails. Four.

"_Aaaaaaaaaargh!!_" I heard the deep groan, and flinched. I made to dash over to him, but _it_ flashed in front of me.

"Now, now, Sakura. Let him overcome this," he said, over brimming with delight.

Naruto swung around, waving its tails dangerously close.

Without any hesitation, and too fast to be seen, Naruto slashed the monster's chest. Three claw marks simultaneously burst into blood. The monster was quiet in shock.

As if everything had been put into slow motion, I saw the monster's eyes roll to the back of his head—just as Naruto fell to the ground, eyes closed.

I let out a prolonged scream as I fell to my knees, hoping on everything that he had just fainted, like before, and it wasn't anything more. I couldn't let him go through the pain again. I couldn't let the Kyuubi control him again. I made up my mind right then.

Not wasting a second, I inserted chakra into my feet and appeared in front of the monster.

While he still staggered in pain, just barely conscious, I brought green chakra out to my hands. I hit a couple important tendon points with my hands, disabling him for the time being. I knew with his power, that he would soon break through his blocked points.

This was it. I unconsciously shivered at the thought of what I was just about to do. I realized with the thought of Naruto's pain-filled expression and the already groaning monster that I couldn't waste anymore time—"Katsui!" I called again. Even if anyone had been watching, they would have not noticed the fraction of a second that I had hesitated.

My eyes narrowed with uncertainty, and before I could reconsider the decision I had made, Katsui leaned forward. She once again burst into clones and mobbed the monster. I noticed with horror that some fell limp at a sudden bolt of light. Chidori.

"Now!" I shouted in panic. With nothing but a hiss, and a struggling grunt from the soon to be deceased monster, Katsui spat. A yellow-green blur shot from her mouth towards him.

I closed my eyes; not wanting to see what I knew was the melting of a human body. Devil or not, it was a body and could easily be compared with my own. I heard the sounds of the spit acid seeping through and his last roar, before everything—even the rain—was silenced.

-

-

He was dead. Though my heart had already began the process of regret, and my subconscious mind had already mused how we might have been able to find a way to suppress the cursed seal, I knew we'd done what had to be done.

A wave of unease fell over me as I thought of that he had done to me, to Naruto. Suddenly, I felt nothing. Not a single emotion stained me as I thought of Uchiha Sasuke. I smiled in self pride. This was the way things should be.

-

-

"Hey, you're up," I said softly, cupping his cold cheeks with my hands. "How're ya feeling?"

Naruto's eyes fluttered open. He lay on the damp ground now; most wounds were sufficiently healed, and I only left the shallow scratches. I knelt beside him, trying to warm him with what body heat I had.

"O…okay," he whispered. We gazed at each other, and I waited for him to speak first. He did.

"Sakura?"

"Hmm?" I replied, in a hopefully cheerful way.

"We did the right thing, right?"

I smiled reassuringly. "Of course we did."

When he didn't say anything, I continued, "A Sasuke like that…is not Sasuke. You know that."

"Y-yeah," he said. He let his eyelids close, and I thought it was a touch of peace that crossed his features.

I continued to stare at him, thinking back to how poorly I had treated him in the genin days. I shifted uncomfortably now, and a saddening thought dawned on me. I didn't deserve him. I had pushed him away so many times back then, selfishly and rudely. I knew that we had always been great friends, and even more now—we had reached the point where our bond was indescribable. But I couldn't help thinking that maybe friends were all we were meant to be. Without doubt, Hinata and her calm, preserved manner deserved him much, much more.

I was about to get up to gather our equipment before I got too depressed, until I felt the same cold hand I been holding around my wrist.

"Where are you going?" he asked hoarsely, sitting up.

"I'm—" He pulled me back, and exhausted as I was, I fell into his chest.

"Ugh!" I rubbed my poor, crushed nose before looking up and questioning him.

"Wha…" I was left breathless. The vibrant color had been restored in his blue eyes, glowing in full force. The sight drew me in; I unconsciously leaned in, captivated by how much his eyes were like the maelstrom that his name was.

Abruptly, I cringed, shrinking back from him. I brought my hand around to the one wound I hadn't healed; the kunai stab.

Naruto used his own hand to cover mine, and rubbed softly, soothing the cut back into bearable pain. His glance was fixed on the cut, putting in full concentration to comfort me as if the world depended on my well-being.

"I'm fine," I whispered into his ear, which was conveniently right next to my mouth.

"No," he said, his tone serious, "he hurt you." Naruto pulled the jacket, _his_ jacket, tighter around me.

"He's dead," I added pointedly. We both sat in silence, wondering what the other was thinking. I thought carefully how Naruto must be feeling. Did he miss him? Did he wish we hadn't killed him? Or did he feel the way I did?—Emotionless.

Suddenly, a low, angry growl disturbed the quiet. I jerked out of his grasp, already on alert. Then I heard a laugh that I hadn't heard since the night Naruto appeared on my doorstep. I hadn't realized I missed it so much.

"Ugh…It's just me." Naruto's stomach groaned again. "I haven't eaten _all day_!"

The mood completely shifted. "Of _all_ the times, Naruto… You just _had_ to—" He pulled me to him again.

I was ready this time, and actually contained some dignity; my breath did not catch in my throat.

Before long, I was leaning in again. I couldn't stop myself—I pecked him on the cheek, as light as a feather. I pressed my lips to him with as much happiness as I could and took _slight_ pleasure in feeling him smile and hold me tighter.

I closed my eyes in my euphoria. It was over… Finally over.

—

_"Mommy? When did you find out you loved Daddy?" my most precious possession said, settling her self in my lap._

_I laughed lightly, remembering when I asked that very question to my own mother. "Well, honey, it was in the wake of determination," I smiled, thinking of how long I've waited to tell this tale. "It all started at the very moment the sun met the horizon. The shadows grew and became an eerie cover on everything. Your father had just…"_

—

* * *

**A/N: If you read all the way down here, I'm just going to say that I absolutely love you. Thank you so much for giving up a chunk of your time! I'm sure most people just saw the length of this and closed out, saying, "Holy _crap_, this is long. No way am I reading it."**

**I was wondering…did I make Sakura a little OOC? Since I usually see her…less serious. But I guess this situation isn't one where she could be anything but serious. And I _did_ have that one line: "He was just…_so gross_." I dunno. You tell me. Which reminds me…**

**I would really, _really_ love some feedback! And it would be such a shame to read all of it and not leave behind your thoughts.**

**_Credits_: My very first beta, ToA, who just happens to have a really, really GREAT and SAD NaruSaku fic. Then there's my friend Coke from Silver Butterfly506, who helped in so, _so_ many ways that if I wrote them all out here, I'd definitely be going over the file-size limit XD. And also my friend Akasakura, who wrote an entire rape scene -_cringes_- even though I only used a few sentences. If I did, I don't think I'd be able to post this at T.**


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